Interstellar president (12): If Zhou Qinghao hadn’t reported this laboratory, he might have thought that the person behind the laboratory was him

Cao Bo arrived at the laboratory early in the morning to deliver something to Gu Juntian.

Managing a lab wasn’t easy, and he was now very busy every day.

No wonder those laboratories all hired dedicated personnel for management. If the researchers had to manage the lab themselves, they wouldn’t have time for anything else!

“Be careful, these instruments are very expensive…” Cao Bo said as he led people to move various equipment into the lab.

He had worked as Zhou Qinghao’s secretary and had handled large amounts of money in the past.

But no matter how much money he had managed before, it was nothing compared to this month.

Zhou Qinghao had already invested over a billion into this lab.

Cao Bo knew that research was costly—he knew there were plenty of people who had burned through tens or even hundreds of billions for the sake of researching something—but the fact that Gu Juntian had spent over a billion in just one month still left him on edge.

Luckily, it was President Zhou who had the money. If someone else were funding Gu Juntian and saw how much he was spending, they would’ve run away a long time ago!

While Cao Bo was busy, a security guard suddenly ran over to him. “Secretary Cao, someone’s here to visit!”

“Who is it? Who are they here to see?” Cao Bo asked casually, intending to find an excuse to have the guards turn them away.

Gu Juntian and the others were focused on research and not seeing visitors. As for him, he was too busy and didn’t want to meet anyone either.

Seeing that Cao Bo didn’t take it seriously, the guard became anxious. “Secretary Cao, it’s Director Zhang from the National Institute of Genetic Research!”

“Who did you say?” Cao Bo thought he’d misheard.

The guard said, “It’s Director Zhang!”

Director Zhang was a well-known figure in the country.

The anti-genetic collapse medication sold by Minghui had been developed based on Director Zhang’s original research.

People who suffered from genetic collapse syndrome experienced intense pain without treatment.

Their organs would deteriorate, and even something as simple as breathing would become difficult and unbearably painful.

In the past, many patients would commit suicide due to the severity of their suffering.

But decades ago, Director Zhang developed a medication that could alleviate the pain experienced by patients with genetic collapse syndrome.

That medication had now become widely available. The basic version didn’t prolong life, but it allowed patients to live their final six months like normal people. It was now provided free of charge by the state to every patient.

The advanced version could prolong life but was significantly more expensive. There were many versions on the market, and the most effective one was produced by Minghui.

Those being treated in medical pods also used this medication; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to immerse themselves in the virtual world while in so much pain.

Now ninety years old, Director Zhang had become a figure featured in textbooks. Cao Bo had grown up hearing stories about him.

Learning that Director Zhang had come to visit, Cao Bo froze. “Why would Director Zhang come here?”

The guard was just as puzzled. “I don’t know either!”

Staring at the guard for two seconds, Cao Bo didn’t hesitate and rushed outside.

Several cars were parked at the lab entrance, and an elderly man—clearly advanced in age but looking very spirited—was standing beside a car, gazing at the laboratory’s entrance.

“D-Director Zhang!” Cao Bo could barely speak clearly.

Director Zhang smiled at him. “Hello. I’ve come unannounced because I’d like to have a chat with your lab’s researchers.”

“I’ll take you in right away!” said Cao Bo.

With that, he led Director Zhang toward Gu Juntian’s lab.

After walking a few steps, it occurred to him that the lab had strict security protocols and he couldn’t bring guests in without permission, so he hurriedly contacted Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian granted him the clearance to bring guests inside, then turned to Clement and Qin Zhao, who had been arguing in front of him. “Alright, you two stop arguing—Director Zhang is here.”

Clement and Qin Zhao were stunned at first, then quickly began straightening their clothes.

Qin Zhao added, “Good thing I was wearing a protective suit and cap!” He hadn’t had a haircut in quite some time before he started talking to Gu Juntian again, and he hadn’t had one this past month either—he hadn’t even washed his hair for several days.

If he weren’t wearing a hat, he wouldn’t have the face to meet anyone.

Gu Juntian didn’t respond to them and strode directly toward the entrance.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw Director Zhang already suited up in protective gear.

Cao Bo had told Director Zhang that he didn’t need to wear the gear, but Director Zhang still put it on properly. “When entering a lab, some rules must be followed.”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a young and handsome researcher walking toward him.

It was rare to see such good-looking young people in a lab. Director Zhang smiled at him, and then he heard the young man say, “Hello, Director Zhang. I’m Gu Juntian. You’re here because of the paper I wrote, right? That paper was something I wrote earlier. I’ve since had some new ideas and would like to discuss them with you!”

Director Zhang thought he had misheard.

That paper… was written by this young man?

Eager to share his results, Gu Juntian didn’t care whether the elderly man was shocked. He continued, “Director Zhang, after I finished writing that paper, I had some new ideas and even conducted an experiment…”

What Gu Juntian said was substantial, and Director Zhang was quickly drawn in and began chatting with him.

By the time Qin Zhao and Clement finished tidying themselves up and arrived, they realized they couldn’t get a word in during the conversation between Gu Juntian and Director Zhang.

But they didn’t intend to interrupt anyway.

When the top experts are talking, the best thing to do is listen!

Meanwhile, the four students Director Zhang had brought along were also listening attentively.

One of them knew Clement—it was he who had passed Gu Juntian’s paper to Director Zhang on Clement’s behalf.

He had already noticed that the paper wasn’t signed by Clement, but he had assumed Clement had written it anyway, since the paper carried Clement’s stylistic fingerprints.

That’s why, when Gu Juntian first came out, he hadn’t really trusted him.

But now… that friend of Clement asked, “So that paper wasn’t written by you?”

Clement replied, “It was written by my teacher. But he was pressed for time, so I helped him organize and polish it a bit.”

Since Qin Zhao addressed Gu Juntian as “teacher,” Clement followed suit.

Being Gu Juntian’s student was a good thing—someday, history books would mention them too.

Clement’s friend looked at Gu Juntian, then back at Clement. “Your teacher… is a skincare enthusiast?”

This guy looked so young—was it because he took such good care of himself?

With today’s medical technology, if someone is willing to spend the money, it’s not impossible for someone in their fifties or sixties to look like they’re in their twenties.

Clement said, “Probably not. He’s not even at the age where skincare is needed. He’s only twenty-two.”

Clement’s friend: “…”

Meanwhile, Director Zhang and Gu Juntian were talking more and more in-depth.

Director Zhang had now confirmed that the paper really was written by Gu Juntian.

However, that paper must have been written some time ago—Gu Juntian now had many new ideas.

Gu Juntian truly had a lot of new ideas.

His mind was like a treasure chest—so long as he was willing to dig, he’d always find something surprising.

He had just finished writing a paper yesterday, and already gained new insights. Now, during the conversation with Director Zhang, he was getting even more ideas.

After chatting for a while, considering Director Zhang’s advanced age, Gu Juntian said, “Director Zhang, should we continue this in the meeting room?”

There was a sofa in the small meeting room, and sitting down to talk would be much more comfortable.

“Alright,” Director Zhang agreed.

Gu Juntian led Director Zhang over while continuing to share his thoughts. In his words, he also hinted that he needed support from the government.

Indeed, the next stages of experimentation would require a massive amount of funding—government backing would be ideal!

And then there was the matter of clinical trials. Gu Juntian’s lab currently didn’t even qualify to conduct them.

Director Zhang thought for a moment and asked, “Would you be willing to come to the National Institute of Genetic Research?”

Gu Juntian replied, “There are too many people there—it’s not convenient. I just need funding and personnel support. Also, this research is being carried out with Zhou Qinghao’s backing, so if there are results in the future, half of them should belong to him.”

“The government will likely require a 50% stake in your lab. As for the rest, it’s better for you to keep it. Regarding President Zhou, just give him some compensation and a cooperation agreement,” Director Zhang said.

Gu Juntian said, “Just give him my half. Or, we can share that half together.”

Director Zhang realized something: “You and President Zhou are…?”

Gu Juntian replied, “He’s my boyfriend.”

Ah, that explains it! Director Zhang said no more.

What Gu Juntian intended to develop was a drug that could unlock the human genetic lock—he temporarily named it the Gene Agent.

It would stimulate human genes and push humanity toward evolution.

This was actually a very dangerous field. In many science fiction novels and movies, the apocalypse came about precisely because humans tampered with genes in pursuit of “evolution.”

But Director Zhang had no objection to Gu Juntian’s research.

The Gene Agent Gu Juntian was working on could only be used on patients already suffering from gene collapse syndrome.

Having gene collapse syndrome was essentially a death sentence. Even if the gene agent carried some risk, it was still worth trying.

Of course, the state would closely monitor the entire experiment to prevent accidents.

Director Zhang spoke with Gu Juntian all the way until the afternoon, only leaving when the elder became physically exhausted.

Once he left, Gu Juntian said to Cao Bo, “Cao Bo, let me be the one to tell Qinghao that Director Zhang came. I want to surprise him.”

Director Zhang was Cao Bo’s idol, and he had been practically glued to the man’s side just now. Only after hearing Gu Juntian’s words did he realize he’d forgotten to report this to Zhou Qinghao.

It was fine if Gu Juntian wanted to say it himself. Cao Bo replied, “No problem.”

As he spoke, Cao Bo opened his communication terminal to check the messages he had missed. After just one glance, he exclaimed in shock, “Oh no! Something happened to President Zhou!”

“Something happened? What happened?” Gu Juntian grew anxious.

Cao Bo said, “This morning, the police raided a lab that was doing human experiments. Now, people online are saying that President Zhou was funding that lab. They’re also claiming he has gene collapse syndrome and is trying to swap bodies with someone!”

“What?” Gu Juntian was stunned.

This was something that had happened in the original plot. He thought that after he reported the private lab, Zhou Qinghao would be safe. Yet Zhou Qinghao was still being accused?

Without hesitation, Gu Juntian went online to check the news.

There were many reports, and the hottest topic right now was the police raid on a private lab this morning.

The police found that the lab was connected to several missing persons cases involving individuals with highly stable genes. The lab had captured those people and used their genes to cultivate infants, then conducted human experiments trying to let patients with gene collapse syndrome swap bodies with people who had highly stable genes.

Beyond that, the lab was also conducting other genetic experiments.

They combined human genes with genes from various creatures to create monsters.

The “test subjects” found in the lab were horrifying to look at.

The public erupted in anger, furiously condemning the lab and demanding harsh punishment for anyone involved with it.

At that moment, someone dug up information showing that the lab was originally founded by Zhou Qinghao’s father.

Although the Zhou family was wealthy, their gene stability was poor.

With modern medical advancements, people with stable genes could live to be 120 without issue. But Zhou Qinghao’s father developed gene collapse syndrome in his fifties and died six years later, only living half as long as others.

People began to speculate that Zhou Qinghao might suffer the same fate. So… after his father’s death, did Zhou Qinghao take over the lab and continue inhumane experiments?

As soon as these suspicions arose, more “exposés” came out, claiming that Zhou Qinghao already had gene collapse syndrome.

Most patients would make their illness public, but Zhou Qinghao had hidden it, even spending a fortune on upkeep and doing everything he could to conceal it.

Did he have some unspeakable secret?

Even more alarming: in recent times, he had grown very close to someone with extremely stable genes and even revised his will to leave most of his fortune to that person after his death.

Was he trying to swap bodies with them?

One piece of “evidence” after another was posted online, and the public, upon seeing it, became furious.

“Zhou Qinghao has gone too far!”

“He’s not even human!”

“So if you’re rich, you can do whatever you want?”

“People like him must be severely punished—he deserves to die! Otherwise, the poor will become body donors for the rich!”

“The rich achieve immortality, the poor become commodities… this world is getting more dystopian by the day!”

“Why haven’t the police arrested Zhou Qinghao yet?”

…

The internet was in chaos, and this situation was something Minister Li, who was in charge of the case, hadn’t anticipated.

A month ago, Gu Juntian had written a letter of accusation in Zhou Qinghao’s study and sent it to Minister Li.

After receiving the letter, Minister Li investigated the lab mentioned in it.

Realizing that the lab was linked to certain officials, he carefully laid a trap and leaked some intel, hoping to catch the official colluding with Zhou Jinhai.

Now, he had already identified the official connected to Zhou Jinhai, and the transferred researchers and data were under his surveillance.

He was preparing to wrap up the case neatly when suddenly he discovered that public outrage online was all aimed at Zhou Qinghao.

With so much “evidence,” if it weren’t for the fact that Zhou Qinghao had reported the lab himself, even Minister Li might’ve believed he was behind it.

Seeing the internet filled with people cursing Zhou Qinghao, Minister Li felt deep sympathy for him.

This was clearly Zhou Jinhai framing Zhou Qinghao!

Zhou Qinghao had reported Zhou Jinhai, and now Zhou Jinhai was retaliating against Zhou Qinghao. The vendettas within the wealthy elite were truly terrifying!